


proper procedure

by crapout



Category: VALORANT (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29796270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crapout/pseuds/crapout
Summary: Sova comes back from a mission with a beard.
Relationships: Phoenix/Sova (VALORANT)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	proper procedure

**Author's Note:**

> short thing for the dudes :)

“I’m not sure I like it.”

Phoenix and Sova stand next to each other in front of the mirror. Phoenix, facing away from it with his hands braced on the counter; Sova bent close to the glass. Phoenix leans back to inspect Sova’s face.

“Take your time. But stop moving around so much. You keep bumping into me,” replies Sova.

“It’s just…” Phoenix muddles over his words. “Like, I don’t hate it, but I’m not really sold, yeah?”

“I am not a salesman.” Sova glances over, delicately snips a hair.

Phoenix’s lip quirks up. He reaches over to the sink to pinch a few fallen strands from the sink, bringing them to the light to see how it will catch.

“I am serious, Phoenix, stop bumping me, or I will show you how sharp these scissors are,” Sova warns.

“I didn’t even touch you!”

The scissor blades snip menacingly.

Phoenix backs off, letting the hair between his fingers fall back to the sink. The little strands look lighter against the ceramic than on Sova’s face, where their denseness stands in contrast to the cornsilk hair on his head. For a few minutes, Sova trims his beard to the hum of the bathroom’s fluorescent lights.

Phoenix taps his fingers on the counter to some pop song he’s heard around. “You’ve been at this for, like, hours, babe. I’m bored.”

Sova ignores him.

“Babe. Boooored.”

Sova swears in Russian. “Such a child! Go, find someone who will give you candy.”

“Can’t you give me candy?”

Now Sova puts down his scissors. Phoenix leans over in anticipation, and is rewarded with a wilting side-eye. Sova neglects him and picks up a tinted glass bottle with a dropper, squeezes a few drops of oil into his palm. Works it in with slow, deliberate motions.

“Come on, man! You got me over here like a Disney princess. Got my lips all puckered and shit,” Phoenix grouses. Studiously ignored again. He pushes off of the counter and leaves, dragging his feet all the way down the hallway to Sova’s quarters.

Though supposedly never proper military, Sova operates with a like precision in much of his life. Phoenix takes petty pleasure in rumpling the bedsheets a bit before flopping down on his back. Sova’s room is a single, with a bathroom he only shares with Brimstone down the hall. A benefit of being one of the ‘senior’ members of the protocol, even if seniority is generally disregarded beyond Brimstone and Viper. The room - a small window on one wall, wide shelf on another - is sparse, save for some gear and several books on ornithology. Phoenix picks one with an intimidating hawk on the cover and flips through. The text is all Cyrillic, but he still feels a bit childish only looking at the photos. He’s halfway through when Sova looms into his field of vision.

“Snooping?” says Sova.

“Say that again, I want to hear it in your voice.”

Sova does not concede.

Phoenix pouts and tilts his chin up to make eye contact. “What, are you mad at me?”

“Should I be mad at a baby for crying?”

Phoenix huffs. “What did you want me to do, commentate? I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it. Way too boring.”

“Yes, yes, thank you for waiting so long. You are so patient with me.”

Phoenix narrows his eyes. Sova is often so straightforward it’s hard to tell if he’s being sarcastic or serious, but now his eyes crinkle at the corners and Phoenix knows he’s being made fun of. Sova pats Phoenix’s shoulder to prompt Phoenix to make space, and climbs on to the bed next to him.

“You tired?” asks Phoenix.

Sova returned at 3:00 last night, and was up at 7:00 to debrief with Brimstone over video call. The compound is quiet right now. Killjoy is likely skulking around in the labs, and Viper is somewhere in the city, but the other agents are all posted on missions elsewhere. This is as close to alone as the two of them have ever gotten.

“I'm okay. Are you?” Sova replies.

Phoenix fake-yawns and turns on his side to face Sova. “Yep. But I was about to nod off just now with how long you took in there.”

Sova shoves him lightly, which turns into a minute of tussling that ends with Sova propped on his elbows overtop Phoenix.

“You could grow a beard as well,” Sova says.

“Right, and have to spend a million hours a week taking care of it?” responds Phoenix. “Nah. Plus, I might look too much like my dad if I do.”

Sova responds by licking a stripe along Phoenix’s jaw, ending with a kiss at the junction where bone meets muscle.

“Not gonna return the favour. Sorry,” Phoenix says. Instead, he leans up and pecks Sova on the mouth.

They go back and forth, make out for a bit until Phoenix pulls away, lower face tingling and sensitive. Rubbing his cheeks, he grimaces up at the culprit.

“It would have been worse had I not properly groomed it,” Sova says, amused.

“Still like making out with a dish scrub,” whines Phoenix. “This is- it’s unsustainable.”

Sova raises an eyebrow. Levels him with a look. Phoenix squirms.

“If it really bothers you so much, I can shave it,” says Sova.

Suddenly Phoenix feels quite embarrassed. “No! Well, er,” he backtracks, “I mean - no, I don’t wanna force you to. I could...get used to it.”

“Are you sure?”

Phoenix is not sure. He says nothing. Sova leans down, boxes him in. Phoenix begins to sweat.

“You would really be okay with that?” Sova asks. Continues to inch closer and closer.

Phoenix gulps. A second passes. He becomes very aware of the way the ceiling lights buzz. Gulps again. Looks anywhere but down.

Sova finally brushes his beard against Phoenix’s chin. It’s the barest contact, but it sets the skin there to tingling all over again. It’s even less pleasant with his skin already sensitive.

“Okay, okay! I hate it, I’m sorry, you still look hot, but I just- I can’t stand the beard. Sorry.”

Sova grins at the concession and props himself back up again. “That’s fine,” he says, still smiling. “I am impartial either way.”

“Wha- then why'd you spend so long preening?” says Phoenix. “Made me get all rashy and shit.”

Sova clicks his tongue. “That was nothing, your skin is fine. It would have been worse in other places.” At this Phoenix chokes; Sova continues, “And if I keep a beard, I would like to at least take care of it when I can. It is not exactly a priority to find oil and clippers when one is in the wild. I appreciate what I have.”

“Okay, so appreciate me and shave it off, then,” Phoenix says. “Pretty please.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Sova huffs, and rolls off of Phoenix. They lie silently next to each other for a moment.

Phoenix listens to Sova’s breathing slow down, but glances over and finds him awake and looking back.

“You should sleep, babe. Before the others get back. Dunno what kind of crap they’d do, especially if they saw your. You know.” Phoenix gestures to his chin.

Sova chuckles but stays quiet. He rarely lets his guard down enough to fall victim to Raze and Jett’s graffitiing proclivities, but has certainly witnessed it enough.

He rolls over onto his back. “Often, after I have finished a mission, I find it hard to sleep. My body and mind are tired, but my subconscious craves the excitement. It doesn’t yet realize the chase has taken pause.”

Phoenix hums. “Yeah, same. Except it was football games rather than, you know, _the_ _hunt_.” He snorts. “After every game my mom would make a crapton of food and force me to eat all of it, so if I couldn’t pass out from exhaustion, the food would do it.”

Sova looks him in the eye. The light from the window makes his bionic eye glow brightly blue. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Phoenix’s palms go warm. He pulls himself closer, bringing an arm over Sova’s shoulder. “Well, the kitchen’s free too if you get hungry later. Let’s just have a nap while it’s quiet.”

Sova shuffles into the embrace. They fall asleep quickly.

**Author's Note:**

> would not have predicted that the first fic i finish in 5 yrs would be for a riot game but whatever it's cool. also i borrowed the raze jett graffiti duo thing from a fic by hotlegfryegg but i forget which one it is sorry


End file.
